


Icebound

by writingtoremember



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-05-17 13:19:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14833025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingtoremember/pseuds/writingtoremember
Summary: Born in 1939 and orphaned just ten years later, Katie Turner was given far more than she asked for. As a skilled fighter being forced to work for an anti-communist organization in the 1950's, she was looking for an escape anytime, anywhere. So, as the anti-communist movement fell apart and her superiors became desperate, she agreed to become their super-soldier in the hopes that she would have the power to escape.Katie managed to escape, but at a cost higher than she was willing to pay. After being frozen for over 50 years, Katie was found through Stark intel and coming to terms with losing time and gaining some serious super-strength. Struggling with who to trust, how to be vulnerable, and how to make up for all of the horrible things she's done in the past, Katie is looking for any opportunity that creates structure in her life.Adjusting to the modern day is challenging to say the least, but Tony Stark thinks that there's one person who could help with the transition: Steve Rogers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> BEFORE READING:
> 
> Hello everyone! I haven't written in a while and I'm kinda open to suggestions with this story and other story ideas too! Leave some comments for me!  
> (I plan on updating and posting new chapters every week so stick around for that)
> 
> Point of View (POV) will occasionally change, but let me know what POV you like!
> 
> As far as where this sits in the MCU, I'm not totally sure. Definitely post Avengers: Age of Ulton, but I'm taking this in its own direction/timeline. Let me know if you want me to incorporate events from the comics/movies if you're interested and I'll see what I can do!
> 
> Enjoy!

_I divide my life into two parts: Before the freeze and after._

\--

**STEVE'S POV:**

“Why did you call me in here again? All you told me before was that there was news,” I questioned. I never knew how to react to Tony’s ‘news.’ It could be anything from an invitation to one of his infamous parties to a 6 month mission that I would inevitably be in charge of.

“Well Steve, I think I may have found you a new girlfriend,” He said, gesturing me into a conference room. Tony often times made comments about women and my love life, but I took nearly everything he said with a grain of salt.

I gave him a tired look and my eyes went towards the large screen at the front of the room.

“Well, turns out the whole super soldier idea spread a lot farther than Hydra and the U.S. government,” He said, pulling up footage on the screen. It showed a laboratory with multiple people in white coats working around a large metal case.

“What are you talking about,” I questioned while watching the footage. It showed the Stark Industries workers opening the case, revealing a person inside. She wasn’t moving and she was soaking wet.

“Well, I recently got intel on a location that was harboring some frozen capsules around the outskirts of Chicago. There was only one that could be recovered,” He said as we both watched the footage. The woman rose up from her case and she was shouting, but the audio was stripped from the footage. She was small, but she was strong. I watched her knockout one of the lab workers, causing another to poke her with a needle, making her pass out. 

“So there was more of them,” I asked, looking at Tony’s furrowed brow.

“Well, when we found the capsules, four others had been pried open already. We’re not sure when that happened, but her’s was in pretty bad shape when we found it,” He stated. He pulled up pictures of capsules similar to her’s covered in dents, bullet holes, and gashes.

“Who is she?” I questioned as Tony pulled up a picture of her with credentials. At the top of the screen read Kathleen Turner.

“Her name’s Katie Turner, but most knew her by the nickname ‘The Red Mamba,’” He explained.

“Why’s that,” I returned, confused.

“Well, black mamba’s can take down animals more than twice its size,” He stated as he pulled up footage of her boxing. She punched the bag so hard it ripped from its chains.

“How do you even get this footage?” I asked as Tony smiled, taking a seat across from me while kicking his feet up.

“First of all, that’s none of your business. Secondly, we don’t know much about her, but I think she could be useful to the team,” Tony snarked.

“How do we know she’s not a threat?” I questioned.

“Well, we’ve been trying to rehabilitate her for a couple weeks now, but no one knows how to get through to her. It seems like she was forced into getting powers; she’s very, _resentful_ ,” I watched as she started doing push-ups, then again began punching at another bag,”She was born in 1939 and she was frozen in 1961 by some kind of anti-communist regime named M.A.D. but she won’t tell us much more than that,” He explained.

“M.A.D.?” I asked. I wanted to laugh at the name but maintained my composure.

Until Tony smiled and I couldn’t help but smile too.

“Yes, after the lovely Joseph McCarthy. It stands for McCarthy and Disciples,” He said, letting out a small laugh.

“So what is she, some kind of spy or soldier, or,” I started before Tony cut me off.

“Look, she’s told us M.A.D. took her as a kid and she ‘worked’ for them. We know she’s got some kind of super-human strength,” He said, gesturing towards the screen,”And could probably match your speed. We’re assuming it was a similar serum you had, but she doesn’t seem to want to talk to me or anyone else. I got the most out of her, but I was hoping you could help,” He said, looking over to me again.

“Why me? Why not Bucky?” I didn’t understand why I was necessary for this task. If she wasn’t going to talk to Tony why would she talk to me?

“You’ve been through all this before, and besides, Bucky is just starting to settle in here - when we’re ready to introduce her to him and everyone else, we will,” Our eyes met and after letting out a sigh, I nodded.

“Alright, follow me,” He said, gesturing towards the door.

“What, right now?” I questioned. Tony nodded giving me grin and I rolled my eyes. I followed behind him down a hallway and towards another conference room. I could see her already sitting inside through the glass wall.

Tony lead us inside, “Katie, this is Steve Rogers,” He said as I reached out my hand to shake hers. I held my hand out awkwardly for a few moments before I realized she wasn’t going to return my handshake. In fact, she was staring at me.

She had long, dark brown hair that had some curl to it. Her eyes were light blue and her frame small. She was probably only 5’6”. She was wearing blue jeans and a plain white tee shirt, yet still she was so gorgeous.

Tony snapped and she let herself blink, shaking her head a bit.

“You’re Captain America,” She stated, now bouncing her gaze back and forth between Tony and I. I hadn’t realized I’d been staring too.

“Uh, yeah,” I answered. I was so used to hearing ‘Steve’ or ‘Rogers’ around here; even ‘Cap’ but the full title wasn’t really a typical thing for me.

“You should be dead,” She started. I could see her thoughts were running rampant through her mind.

“Should be?” While I knew she was referring to the fact that I should have died years ago, I couldn’t read the tone in her voice and was hoping it wasn’t a threat.

“My dad, he used to send me postcards with your face on it after he got drafted during the war. I had dozens of them,” She replied, a weak smile spreading across her soft lips.

“Well look at that, seems like you have yet another fan,” Tony interjected.

I disregarded his comment due to my increasing curiosity, “Your dad fought in the war?”

“Yeah he fought,” She scoffed and let out a sigh, “He died in the war too. I barely knew him, but he always sent my brother and I postcards, and you were always on the front side.” I couldn’t tell if she was angry about it or happy.

A tension grew in the room, and I looked to her with comfort. She let out a sigh and looked to me with another small smile in an attempt to offer some relief.

“Well, I’ll let you two get some space,” Tony proclaimed while giving me an obvious wink while putting his hands on our backs, pushing us closer together.

Katie quickly grabbed his arm, flinging him over her shoulder and onto the large round table in the center of the room. I heard a few cracks before raising my own fists up to her.

“Well, F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” He muttered after letting out a small groan,”Please make a note that Ms. Turner is trained in martial arts as well. And to order a new table for Conference Room F.”

She tried to conceal a smile but couldn’t help herself, “Oh calm down,” She said, looking at my fists. I slowly lowered them, but kept my hands as fists.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Tony replied, awkwardly scooting off the table and walking out the door.

We both looked at each other for a few seconds before she took a seat.

I waited for her to speak,”You know, it’s nice to see a familiar face, even if you don’t know me.”

“Yeah, I could understand that,” I said with a light sigh. I remembered how hard it was to make the transition. Trying to cope with the loss of my friends and my way of life. Knowing I could never have the life with Peggy that I had always desired or having Bucky around. Granted, he’s around now, but it’s still hard to let go of future plans.

We talked for around two hours about our lives. Surprisingly, we had similar personalities, even though we came from different decades. She opened up to me as much as she could, but I could tell she didn’t _really_ trust me yet.

She told me about her older brother, William, and how close they were. She told me about how her father had died serving in World War II and her mother had passed of influenza in 1949. William and herself were taken in by an orphanage and eventually, she was taken by M.A.D. and trained to fight.

“Eventually, the Red Scare started to simmer down and the leaders of M.A.D. didn’t know what to do. Word spread that they were taking children, but it was already too late for me. I was one of the better fighters and so they chose me to experiment on,” She said, tears welling in her eyes, “I never wanted to hurt anyone. They made me fight other children. I broke arms and legs. Dealt out black eyes. When the government found out they were training child assassins and brainwashing them, they invaded. They saved a lot of kids, but they couldn’t get everyone.”

“They took you with them,” I concluded. She wiped away a small tear and stared into her hands.

“They said they had bigger plans for me. I resented them the entire time. I tried to escape, but it never worked. Eventually I gave in to them. I fought for them, even if they weren’t able to brainwash me like some of the other kids,” She paused again, hesitating,”They told me there was a way to make me stronger. They told me I would be a better fighter.”

I wanted to hug her, to comfort her. Tell her that it would be okay like I wished someone had done for me, but it wasn’t the right time.

“I thought if I was stronger I would be able to fight against them better, so I said yes. They strapped me into these machines and prodded me with needles. When I woke up, I tried to escape, but next thing I knew, everything was black. Then I woke up here,” She explained, meeting my eyes again.

She was strong, but she was fragile. Everything in her life had been taken from her.

“I’m so sorry,” I responded. She gave a weak smile before looking at her hands again.

“Look, I don’t know who I can trust here, but my dad told my brother and I you were a stand up guy. He wrote to us once telling us that he met you, that you went around visiting soldiers and kids. He told me you gave him strength,” I felt my heart beat pick up. I met so many faces I don’t think I would remember one soldier from another.

“Well, uh, thanks. All part of the job,” I replied.

After a few more minutes, Tony reentered the room.

“Well, now that you’re all caught up, I think Steve here would love to show you back to your room,” Tony said, looking to me with a smile. 

“I don’t exactly know where,” I started before getting cut off.

“Down a floor and to the left. I’m sure Katie can show you,” He said with a smile. He was really pushing it with us.

We walked through the halls together, making light conversation. From what I could tell so far, she was witty and while she was guarded, she was still kind.

I could see her fitting in around here just fine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Switching over to Katie's POV for this chapter. I have the next chapter ready, and am hopefully gonna get started on chapter 4 soon! Let me know how I'm doing in the comments!

**Katie’s POV:**

If I didn’t feel alone before, I sure as hell did now. The world is such a different place than I left it. That’s not to say that I grew up in a normal sense of the world, but that it is so hard to adjust to any kind of different life than the one I had lived before this. They took me when I was ten years old and kept me until I was 22; until I was frozen and given these insane powers.

I was still getting used to testing out my abilities. I usually started out my days with a run. Of course I wasn’t allowed to go outside without having someone to watch me, so usually I ran outside. My speed was only a slight bit faster than before I was shot up with the serum that M.A.D. gave me.

M.A.D. was strong, and somewhat powerful, but they were small. I only ever counted about 50 children to pass through the “training program” and very few of them lasted long. Considering I was the best fighter, I was there longer than any other kid. My only friend was Robert, Bobby is what I used to call him. Bobby was only there for maybe a year and half before I woke up one morning and he wasn’t in his bunk. I knew asking questions would only cause more problems for me, so I never asked. I had seen what happened to the other kids who asked.

I was used to loss by then, not letting myself get too close to anyone. Even still though, losing Bobby was tough.

The only real, noticeable change after the serum was my strength. Before, I was a strong, skilled fighter, but now I found myself able to lift at least 5 tons. At least that’s all I was able to test here considering Tony didn’t give me much equipment to work with.

I know they don’t trust me here, and I know I’m not making it any easier for them. But the truth is, it’s scary trying to put my trust in something I don’t know. Tony, was testing boundaries with me and I tried to respect that as best I could. He seemed to be telling the truth, and considering all that he’s done for me so far, I felt like I should at least try to put in more effort.

\--

“Ms. Turner, I just wanted to check in on how you’re doing,” Tony said while simultaneously knocking at my door, then moving over towards me. He had been keeping me in a small room with a bed, table, a few chairs, and a bathroom attached.

“Okay,” I said with a stiff smile. As annoying as he was, I knew he was only trying to help me. He was cocky, arrogant, obnoxious, but I could see concern written all over his face. I trusted him enough.

“I’ve been watching your training exercises, they’re impressive. Considering that you’ve been here a few weeks, I wanted to give you the opportunity to catch up on the last few years.” Apparently there were eyes everywhere here if he was watching me train. He placed a square the size of my hand on the table next to me and pushed the circular button at the bottom. The screen lit up, showing the time written across it largely.

“What is this,” I questioned the technology sitting in front of me. Stark didn’t trust me, and I guess that’s for good reason since I hadn’t been too willing to talk about anything. I just didn’t want to be seen as an enemy, because I’m not. But he’s been giving me a lot of opportunities that I didn’t want to screw up.

Even though this transition into the modern day has been tough, I knew that I had to suck up to Tony in order to stay connected to Steve.

Since the initial meeting with Steve, we had trained together twice. Well, he ended up boxing at the same time I had been twice. We didn’t end up talking much, but when we did he always seemed so genuine. He told me that sometime soon I would meet his friend Bucky, and that he could help me through this too. Everyone seemed to be hesitant around me here.

“It’s a cellular phone. Most people call them smart phones. It’s a telephone mixed in with a lot of other handy stuff,” He explained, snapping me back into reality. I found myself thinking about Steve a lot lately. He pressed the circular button and swiped his finger across the screen. More icons appeared across the screen as Tony attempted to show me the ropes of the device. I felt like a child listening to his explanations.

“How do you expect me to use this thing?” I asked with an annoyed twinge in my voice. I was just starting to understand the internet and he was throwing this in my face?

“Well, we just got Steve started on one and I was thinking you two could work on figuring things out together,” He gave me a condescending smile.

I let out a huff and rolled my eyes at him.

“For now though, just figure out how to use the telephone on it. It will make your life a whole lot easier,” He explained while walking me through the steps. He put in two numbers in the contact book: his own and Steve Rogers’. 

\--

“Hey,” I said, placing my bag down on the cold concrete ground. There was a larger man with dark brown hair tied up into a bun. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt and had white tape tied around his fists as he punched against the sandbag hanging from the ceiling. I figured the more open I would be the better my time here would be, so I may as well try to make a friend.

He stopped punching and I saw his shoulders fall in relaxation. He wiped sweat from his forehead before looking over to me with a small smile, “Hi there.”

“My name’s Katie,” I said, walking over to him, putting out my hand for him to shake. He quickly wiped his hands on his shirt and met his right hand with mine. I noticed the shiny metal fingers of his left hand that he tried to hide behind his back awkwardly.

“Bucky,” He replied. I caught myself staring at his hand for a bit too long before meeting his bluish-gray eyes, “Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it looks. And no, it’s not that common to have a metal arm in the future,” he said with a playful tone.

“How did you know-” I started before he cut me off. I remembered Steve mentioning a friend named Bucky.

“Steve told me about you. Welcome to the club.” He slung a small white towel from his pocket around the back of his neck. I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly Steve had mentioned about me.

“Club?” I asked, curious of his light nature.

“Well, you me and Steve are all part of the old people who look young club. Granted, I’ve got a few years on you, but still,” He said, causing me to smile. I liked him already.

“Is that so,” I couldn’t help but play along. It felt nice to have a new face to talk to.

“Don’t worry, he had only good things to say,” He continued, “Plus, he mentioned that you had the codename Red Mamba,” He started.

“Yeah, I was never big into that name, Katie works fine,” I said in a monotone voice. I didn’t want to seem too irritated considering it would be nice to have another friend around here, but I always hated that name.

“Well, Katie, I’d love to train with you sometime and see you in action, but I’ve gotta grab some food,” He said while moving towards the doors I had just passed through moments ago, “But it was nice meeting you.” 

“Wait,” I spat out quickly, “Why not now? I could use a boxing partner,” I said as he turned back towards me. I’m not sure why, but I felt like if I didn’t try harder to make a friend, I would never get out of Tony trying to micromanage everything. I felt like I needed to earn his trust through other people.

Bucky checked the watch on his right arm and shrugged, “What the hell, I guess I could for another half hour.” He placed his gym bag on the ground next to mine and placed the small towel that sat around his neck on top of it.

I don’t know why I thought boxing would be a great idea considering I had never boxed before. Sure, I had fought a lot of people in my life, far too many to count. But I had never simply stepped into a ring with someone before. I guess I thought that it was kind of a two person job.

I took off the zip up jacket I was wearing, revealing the plain white shirt I wore underneath. I was used to wearing the same few things every day, and considering I had talked to few women since I’ve been here, I wasn’t exactly sure what was considered fashionable nowadays. I wore some shorts that were placed on the table in my room sometime this morning and black shoes with a swoosh on the side of them.

As Bucky walked over towards me, he jumped into the small practice ring that sat to the left of me. He offered his metal arm to me to get up into the ring and I took it. We both grabbed pairs of gloves, sliding them onto our hands and lacing them up. I offered him a little help with his as I looked over and saw his struggle, causing me to let out a small giggle.

“Steve mentioned you were strong,” Bucky stated stretching out his back, “But I just want you to know you can tap out at any time,” He smiled at me.

“Same to you,” I said with a cocky smile, pulling my hands up in front of my face.

Bucky matched my position across from me, and counted down from 3 until I heard, “Go!”

I dodged his first three punches and hit him once in the gut, causing him to fall to his knees before quickly managing to get back up again. He cocked his head to the side and waited a beat before running towards me again, this time with a quicker pace.

We moved back and forth, dodging each others’ punches: left, right, right, right, left. I slipped around him, pushing his head under my arm and pulling him to the ground.

We tousled for another twenty seconds, getting up off the floor of the ring, before I was met with his metal arm against my side. Bucky was clearly a great fighter, but that arm? It was intense to say the least.

I let out a fake huff and saw Bucky’s face light up in fear, “Ohmygod I’m so sorry,” He started, holding me in his arm, reaching for my side without touching it.

I laughed before pulling him down to the floor again with ease, leaving him in a headlock once more. We sat like that for around ten seconds before Bucky tapped against the ground three times. I released him from my grip, giving him a second to catch his breath.

We were both panting when he let out, “That’s not fair, you can’t pretend like that,” He had a pouty look on his face as he referenced my fake pain from moments earlier.

“Maybe, or maybe not,” I said with a playful smile, patting him on the back as I climbed out of the ring and sat on a bench that sat just outside of it. He followed shortly after me, joining me on the bench.

“You’re one hell of a fighter, I’ve gotta give you that,” He said with a stunned smile, meeting my eyes for a moment, then quickly smiling into his hands. We both slipped off our gloves, letting them drop onto the floor.

“Well, I’m still getting used to the serum effects, so I’d love to have someone to train with consistently,” I said, hoping to give him another reason to meet up with me. I liked Bucky. He seemed lighthearted and kind. He makes me feel like I’ve known him my whole life.

“I could probably do that,” He responded. There was a clicking at the door and we both watched as Steve entered into the room.

He was wearing sweat shorts and a tee that looked a little too small for him. Or maybe that’s just how his upper body looked in shirts, I couldn’t tell yet. He met his eyes with mine and gave me a confused look.

“Hey Steve, I just boxed a round with your pal Katie,” He said looking at me.

“He lost a round against his pal Katie,” I stated, letting out a laugh as he looked over to me, giving me an obvious eye roll.

“Yeah, well I want a rematch the next time you’re training,” He said, pointing at me. He got up from the bench and moved towards his bag. He picked it up and headed towards the door, giving Steve a pat on the back. 

Steve smiled at his friend before moving over towards me. I quickly got up from the bench and slipped my jacket back on.

“So, you met Bucky,” Steve said.

“Yeah, I was training and he happened to be in here too,” I explained, seeing the fake smile Steve gave. I could tell he was upset, but I couldn’t really understand why.

“You won?” He said, looking over towards the boxing gloves and then the practice ring.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I let out a nervous laugh. Usually I was so composed, but it was hard around Steve. 

“Impressive,” He smiled at me, this time with clear kindness written across his face.

“Yeah, well, these new powers, they’re,” I started without knowing where my thoughts were going.

Steve finished my thoughts, “Interesting. I get it, it’s kind of a weird adjustment, but you’ll get used to it.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leave some comments on what you think everything's leading to!

Katie's POV:

“Where are we going,” I asked, following after Tony as he walked quickly down a hallway I had never seen before.

“We could use your help on a mission and I think that now is a great opportunity to see if you’re ready,” He replied as a strayed after him, moving somewhere between a fast walk and an awkward jog.

I followed him down the hallway and into a large, open room. I saw both Steve and Bucky chatting with each other, both wearing uniforms. Steve was in what looked like a jumpsuit that was dark blue with a utility belt and dull red and white stripes on his chest. There were straps covering his muscular back that was visible through the heavy material. He held a helmet in his right hand and casually spun his iconic shield against the ground. 

Bucky had on a black sleeveless shirt, revealing his full metal arm. It was impressive, and definitely more intimidating than I had thought considering the only other time I had seen him was in a long sleeve shirt. His hair was hanging loose; it was the only part about him (besides the arm) that made him look casual.

The two of them were leaning against a railing, overlooking whatever it was on the level below when Tony interjected, “Steve, Bucky,” He started as they turned around. Bucky gave me a look of excitement while Steve maintained some composure. “Turner will be joining you on your mission today. I figured you could show her the ropes.”

“I’m wearing jeans,” I said, looking over the two men and then myself.

“And that’s why I had Nat and some of the design team make this for you,” He said as a hole opened in the floor a few feet away from me and a mannequin wearing a bodysuit arose. It was a form fitting, black (with red accents) bodysuit with various utility belts and black boots. There were small daggers throughout the belt and different weapons lacing the crossbody aspects of the suit. It was sleek, stealthy, and honestly kind of beautiful.

“Um, thanks Tony, I-” He cut me off before I could finish, patting me on the back.

“Yeah, well, you’re welcome, I know, but you have around five minutes to get into that thing before you’re scheduled for takeoff,” He said while checking his watch.

“Takeoff?” I questioned as a smile creeped in the corner of Steve’s mouth.

“I think you’re gonna like it,” Bucky said gesturing me to come to them. I met them by the railing and looked over the edge. On the level below us there was some sort of jet. I’d never seen anything like it in person before.

\--

“Are you sure I’m ready for this? I don’t even remember the last time I’ve done a mission. Maybe around 1961?” I questioned, running the possibilities through my head. This was more terrifying than trying to fit in or make a friend here. What if I wasn’t good enough. What if they didn’t trust me, or I fail the mission? It’s been so long.

“I think you’ll be great,” Steve looked over to me with a reassuring smile and then turned back to the windshield. He was piloting the plane we were riding in, called the quinjet. Bucky stood with me, trying to calm my nerves while simultaneously preparing for the mission: tightening his bootlaces, re-reading mission commands, adjusting his earpiece, stretching.

Meanwhile I wasn’t given mission commands to read. I was simply told to help the Captain in whatever he needed. Another sign Tony didn’t trust me completely, but I understand.

I paced back and forth for a while, tying up my hair, then letting it down again. Over and over again, trying to pull the hair back as tight as possible. 

“Could you calm down a little, it’s freaking me out, Kate,” Bucky said. No one really called me Kate. My parents always called me Kathleen and pretty much everyone else would call me Katie.

“New nickname I see,” I responded while still pacing. I checked over the weapons strewn throughout my suit, making sure they were in place.

“Well, yeah, I think Kate is kinda cool; it sounds tough.” He proclaimed with a smile growing across his face.

I laughed a little. I didn’t know him well, but I could already tell Bucky was a friendly enough guy. “Well, thanks, _Buck_ ,” I returned.  
I paced for a few more minutes in silence when Steve turned around again, “Alright, we’ll be landing in a few minutes. Bucky, I want you to lead out of the quinjet, Katie, I need you to follow me,” He said while giving me a firm nod.

“What exactly are we doing?” I asked. Still, no one had mentioned where we were headed, what we were doing. Anything, really.

“Well,” Steve gave a tentative look at Bucky, “We have intel on a location in the southern U.S. dealing with small terrorist group manufacturing bombs and other weapons. A few other agents took care of the main mission already, but we need to clean up the rest.” He explained as Bucky nodded back to Steve. Their weird communication was very obvious to me and Steve was not a good liar.

“Hmm,” I responded. Whatever we were really doing I guess I would have to figure out soon, but the lying added an extra layer of suspicion over the two soldiers.

Steve landed the quinjet in a semi-open field and quickly opened the door where Bucky immediately raised a gun and began on his journey.

“Testing, Agent Barnes, over,” I heard ring through the small earpiece in my left ear.

“Agent Barnes, Captain speaking, hear you loud and clear, over,” Steve said a few feet away from me; I heard the echo of his voice through my earpiece.

“Go ahead, Katie, try it out,” He pointed to his own earpiece.

“Bucky do you copy, over,” I said, not knowing what to call myself.

“Sounds good,” I heard him say in return through my earpiece.

Steve gave a thumbs up and began on his way out of the quinjet, shield up. After the weird encounter he had with Bucky earlier, I was hesitant, but I followed.

We walked out into the open field and through a large set of trees without saying anything. Eventually, Steve slowed his pace and put up his hand, signaling me to stop. He was so focused on something in the distance, but I couldn’t see.

He motioned me to follow him and we both knelt behind a large, fallen tree. I could hear his slow breathing.

“So,” I whispered as Steve looked at me, his eyes popping against the dark blue of his uniform, “Are you going to tell me why we’re actually here?”

“What are you talking about,” I could sense his nervousness. Clearly lying wasn’t his thing.

“You lied to me on the quinjet. I’m a trained spy or assassin, or whatever it is you want to label it as. Either way, it’s pretty easy for me to pick up on a lie. Plus, it’s clear you’re not used to it since you’re so bad at it.” I said with an edge in my voice and a stern face.

He fell silent, looking up over the tree again and then back to me.

“Why the hell are we here. You expect me to trust you? How can I when you lie to my face,” I could feel myself getting angrier, guarding myself again. I moved my hand over a large dagger that hung at my waist.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Steve said. Not a beat later we heard an explosion in the distance, and about a second after another.

I heard Bucky in my earpiece, “Hey Cap, we’ve got a situation,” He said as another loud bomb went off.  
“What’s going on Buck,” He replied, making me smirk. _Kate. Buck. They did sound a little tougher._  
“Mines. They’re all throughout the forest,” Bucky replied, “I can scope them out with the metal detector tech in my arm, but you guys need to watch out.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Steve said while standing up and signaling me to follow.

“So we’re still going. Even though there’s landmines surrounding us,” I said with a sarcastic tone, much to the disliking of Steve.

“We have to complete the mission,” He said, monotone.

“What if I have another idea,” I said, looking up and patting the tree next to me.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Steve admitted, signaling me to climb. 

The trees were tall, heavy, and hard to scale, but it could be done. Steve motioned for me to go first, and I remembered the hooks that were in my belt. They clipped onto rings in suit that were near the wrists, and I was able to dig them into the tree, giving me more stability.

Steve, using just his hands, climbed up after me, grunting while slinging his shield on his back. Once we reached the top, we began moving along the branches and over onto the trees in front of us until we neared the edge of the small forest.

“The facility is about a mile in front of us, in the side of the cliff,” Steve pointed at the cliff in front of us. The only thing in between the forest edge and the cliff was an open field. It seemed too easy.

“Bucky, do you copy, over,” Steve questioned.

“Yeah, Cap, I’m here. I’m at the edge of the forest, all I’m seeing is an open field,” He stated. I looked around me, hoping to see Bucky on the ground below, but I was unable.

“Same here, we scaled some trees and we’re placed at the top of a big one right on the edge,” Steve explained. I didn’t understand the rules of communication here. Sometimes they were saying “over” and sometimes they weren't. You’d think there’d be a little more consistency.

“Good luck,” Bucky said. Good luck?

Steve began scaling back down the tree and without having to be given a signal, I followed after him. He began jogging out into the field before halting.

“Why’d you stop?” I whispered, crouching a bit lower than him. I heard the sound of a plane come from above us and saw a black dot fall from the sky. It was like everything was in slow motion.

“Run,” Steve said, grabbing at my waist and pushing me as he too turned and began to run.

The black dot hurled towards the ground until I realized the black dot wasn't just a dot, but a bomb about ten seconds from hitting the ground. I broke out into a full sprint.  
Steve was faster than me though; he quickly slung my entire weight over his shoulder in one swift movement and pushed himself even harder.

I watched as the bomb touched the ground about a half mile away from us, a bright light emerging from the ground. It was just far enough away from us that the blast didn’t send us flying into the air, but instead, the ground beneath us was crumbling.

Before I knew it, I was thrown into the edge woods and I watched as Steve began to fall into the collapsing Earth below us. It was a nightmare. I was watching one of the only people who seemed to care about me fall to his death and I couldn’t handle it. I don’t know if it was the adrenaline or the fear of losing Steve, but my mind disconnected from my body.

I ran towards the explosion. There was clouds of dust and ash clouding my vision and my heart was racing.

“Steve!” I screamed out, “STEVE!”

“What the hell is going on over there,” I heard ring through my ear. Bucky.

“Bucky, there was an explosion. I can’t find Steve,” I said.

But there was no response.

“DAMMIT BUCKY! I NEED HELP!” I screamed. Still, there was no response. 

I was still running in the direction of where I remember Steve throwing me, moving quickly while watching my step in case the ground beneath me was ready to give out.

This went on for another minute or so before I spotted a hand at the edge of the burnt field. I sprinted towards it and crouched down, spotting Steve connected to it. Relief fell through me as I saw his light blonde head look up at me. His face was coated in sweat and ash and his uniform was frayed.

“Katie,” He said with a cough following after. His grip quickly began slipping and his fingers were the only things still attached to the edge of the dropoff.

I rapidly grabbed onto his arm and easily lifted his entire body up and over my shoulders. I looked below and saw the crack in the ground below me. I was confused.

We were in a field, yet there was a crack about 100 feet wide that stretched as far as I could see in either direction. It didn’t make any sense. Below the field showed rock, which I guess made sense considering I could see a cliff in the distance, but I only saw one bomb drop. One bomb couldn’t possibly create a crack that long and wide. Could it?

Rapid thoughts poured in and out of my head as I started running through the answers in my head. I headed into the forest, Steve’s large body strewn across my shoulders as he faded in and out of consciousness.

I thought about the landmines we had heard earlier, but decided getting back to the quinjet was the end goal, so I picked up my pace and began my sprint through the forest.

“Bucky, do you copy,” I said, hearing only static. I called out for Bucky dozens more times before I felt Steve coughing against my back.

“Katie,” I heard from a beaten Steve behind me.

“Steve are you alright,” I said, still running as fast as I could. I had super-strength, not speed, so while it was easy to carry Steve, it only did so much for getting out of this forest as fast as possible.

“Bucky wasn’t lying when he said you were strong,” Steve mumbled between a few soft coughs. I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of that conversation. Bucky, telling Steve that I demolished him in boxing.

“Yeah, well, what can I say,” I felt Steve let out a light laugh against my back as we were approaching the edge of the forest. 

I spotted the quinjet in the distance, and continued running towards it. Just as I was nearing the entrance, the door opened and Tony Stark himself walked out of it wearing his Iron Man suit. It was just as impressive as all of the pictures and videos I had seen on the internet.

Walking inside the quinjet, I laid Steve down and looked to Tony in confusion.

“Congratulations,” He said, his mask opening up to show his face.

“What the hell are you talking about,” I was confused, yet still my focus rested on Steve, “He needs help.”

“I have a feeling he’ll be just fine,” Tony said nonchalantly. I heard a noise coming from the front of the ship, and a moment after Bucky turned around in the pilot’s seat.

“What’s, what’s going on,” I questioned. Steve was awake and although he was covered in ash and had some burn holes in his uniform, he seemed to be alright now.

“Gotta love that ringing after an explosion,” He said with another loud cough. Tony handed him a water bottle which Steve gladly accepted.

I waited, lost at their interactions. Why were they all acting so casual? 

“Well, like I said before, congratulations. You passed one of the big tests,” Tony started, pausing for me to say something, yet I was silent.

“I get it, you’re probably wondering what’s going on. Well, it’s what we call a trust test. We sent you, Steve and Bucky on a fake mission to see what would happen,” He pulled up footage on the screen next to me and I watched what had just happened over again from an aerial perspective.

“This was a test,” I said, a mixture of emotion coursing through me. I was so worried for the man to my right who was laying on the floor covered in soot and ashes, confused at Bucky and his lack of communication, and didn’t know whether to be pissed off at Tony for putting me through this or understanding considering it wasn’t the worst way to test me.

“Yes, and you did pretty well by our standards. You weren’t overly trusting, yet you followed orders,” He stated as I watched footage of me following Steve’s commands in the forest from earlier, “You asked Bucky for help, you went back for old Cap here,” He nudged Steve with his iron boot, “And of course, you proved yourself to be a great agent.” I watched myself carrying Steve through the forest and almost wanted to smile. He was so large and muscular, and there I was, a tiny woman, carrying him over my shoulders. The clip cut back to my grabbing Steve up and over the cliffside and then back again to my original idea of scaling the trees.

“So all of this was fake then,” I questioned.

“Well, parts of it were, but not everything. We had to see if you could do it. Not just the physical training,” He said, pulling up footage of my fight with Bucky. Clearly, nothing was private with Stark then.

“You did great, if it helps,” Bucky said, giving me a shy smile.

I couldn’t help but scoff and roll my eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer one, with a little more action than normal - but everything will be explained in the next one, and definitely a little more romance!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie's POV again, I'd love to know what you think so far so please leave a comment or comments on what you think so far!

Bed sheets stuck to my thighs; they were covered in a light coat of sweat. I could feel the warmth coming through the window next to me as the light was bright against my closed eyelids.

I was always so used to sleeping still. When I was younger it was always hard for me to fall asleep. The stiff beds, rough sheets, and the constant fear left me to wake up every few hours; usually waking in a sweat or panic or both.

I peeled back the sheets and laid in bed for another few minutes before popping into the shower. I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday.

It was a pretty messed up way to test my loyalty or readiness or whatever the reasoning was. It was even worse that Bucky and Steve went along with it. I mostly blame Tony though considering he didn’t have to play with my emotions the way he did.

After rinsing off, I climbed out of the shower and wrapped my hair in a towel and my body in a robe that was provided for me. I was still staying in the room Tony had been letting me stay in since they first woke me up. It was pretty basic. Plain white sheets and covers, wooden chairs and a table. I had a small stack of clothes in the corner.

Tony would always send someone to ask if I needed anything. I usually said no, but still, new stuff would show up every day and my dirty clothes would disappear. 

I slipped into some new clothes and towel dried my hair before sliding on some sandals and walking outside of my room and into the hall. Usually I didn’t sleep well, but after yesterday’s stressful events I felt so drained I got around 10 hours of sleep.

As I walked down the hall and towards a small kitchen, I heard footsteps behind me. I whipped around, already in defense mode.

“Woah, calm down,” I heard Steve’s familiar voice as I noticed his perfectly done hair. Suddenly I was aware of my damp hair and sweatpants and felt the urge to turn back around.

I didn’t know what to say to Steve. After his performance yesterday, I couldn’t help but question our friendship (if you could call it that).

I waited for him to speak again, “Hey, Katie, I just wanted to apologize for everything that happened yesterday. I wasn’t briefed on everything that was happening. If I had known I wouldn’t have put you through all of that,” His voice was soft and his face was kind.

“I’ve dealt with worse,” I said in a monotone voice, trying to stifle my anger.

“Of course, I’m sure,” He said awkwardly, waiting for a reply but there was none.

“Look,” Steve started again, “Tony only told me that you were supposed to come on a test mission with Bucky and I and that everything would be fine. I didn’t know there would be the explosions and I plan on talking to Tony about everything-”

“It’s okay Steve,” I cut him off, not wanting to hear his apologies any longer. It’s always been hard for me to accept apologies right after something happens. It’s much easier for me to just forget about things until my feelings on it go away.

“I, I wanted to make it up to you,” He said, pushing his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor and then back to meet my eyes. I couldn’t help but stare into his blue eyes; they were mesmerizing.

“How so,” I questioned, feeling a bit less tense as a began to let go of my hostility.

“Well, I was thinking we could get some dinner sometime? Or I could make you something?” He tripped over his words and I saw a light blush creep onto his cheeks.

I could feel my heart beating faster and my throat get dry. He looked at me a little longer as his question ran through my head over and over again. I realized I hadn’t said anything.

“Or, not, I mean if you hate me that’s understandable and you can definitely have some space…”

“Sure,” I squeaked out, nervously grabbing the ends of my damp hair. _Oh God, I can’t believe he’s asking me out while I look like this._

“How about I swing by your room at 6:00 tonight?” He asked, a huge grin spreading across his face.

“That’d be good,” I said, smiling back at him.

“Great, it’s, a date then,” He said through a smile.

“It’s a date,” I confirmed, “Well, I think I’m gonna grab some breakfast.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” He said with a small hand gesture. I could tell that he was a little rusty when it came to this considering he was usually much more poised.

I gave him a small wave goodbye as I turned back towards the kitchen. I could feel the heat creep up across my cheeks. 

\--  
I laid on my bed, staring at my ceiling for around twenty minutes before I heard a knock at my door. Panicking, I checked the clock and saw that it was only 4:47 and ran over to answer the door.

“Hi there,” A woman said in a raspy voice. She had short, curled red hair and was drop-dead gorgeous. She was holding a large black duffle bag in one arm.

“Uh, hi,” I said, opening the door a little wider.

I was still wearing my clothing from earlier and had done little to my hair after my shower this morning. I had been laying in bed all day thinking about what I was supposed to wear for this date and if I was supposed to wear makeup and if so how I was supposed to get some.

“I’m Natasha,” She said, putting her hand out for me to shake, “I’m a friend of Tony’s.”

Great.

I grabbed her hand to shake, “I’m Katie.”

“Oh, Tony and Bucky have told me all about you. Nice job taking Buck down in boxing by the way, it sounded pretty impressive,” She said with a small smirk.

“Yeah, thanks,” I said with a smile. There was another pause before she began to explain why she was here.

Apparently word had gotten around that Steve and I were getting dinner and Tony had sent Natasha to basically help me look presentable. She explained that she worked at the Tower and that she could help me get ready if she wanted to.

Usually making friends wasn’t really my strong suit, but she seemed nice and innocent enough.

I quickly found out that Natasha and I were very similar. While I didn’t actually learn a lot about her, we had the same sense of humor and that was enough for me.

She laid out various outfits across the bed and pulled out a bag filled with makeup products, rifling through it and picking out different products.

“I don’t exactly know how to dress for this, I don’t know where we’re going and to tell you the truth I’ve never actually been on a date before,” I explained, sitting down in a chair in the bathroom.

I decided to tell Natasha the abridged version of my life story to make things a bit easier to understand. Plus, I figured if she works for Tony then she probably already knows anyways.

“Never?” She asked, looking at the different outfits on my bed before picking up a light blue dress that hit just below the knee.

She walked the dress over to me, held it up to my frame and smiled, “No,” I replied, “I never really had the chance to even think about boys really.”

“Well, I guess now’s a good time to start then,” She responded, handing the dress to me, “Here, try this on and tell me what you think.

I nodded, walking into my bathroom and closing the door. I pulled the dress on over my head and opened the door to see Natasha’s reaction. She looked up with a closed smile spread across her face.

“Beautiful. He’ll love it,” She said, gesturing for me to sit down again in the chair in the bathroom. She did my makeup while going through the different products. She didn’t do anything too crazy either. I had only ever used my mother’s makeup as a child but that was about all.

6:00 pm was creeping up on me as Natasha and I talked and as she prepared me for my date. She told me that she knew Steve well and let it slip that she wished to know Bucky better than she did.

“Bucky?” I raised an eyebrow at her in the mirror and she shrugged.

“He’s been through a lot, but his attitude towards life is so intriguing to me,” She explained, adding some product into my hair to add to its natural texture.

Just as she was finishing up I heard a knock at my door.

Looking at Natasha through the mirror again, she gestured for me to go answer it.

I could feel my heart rate picking up again and my palms getting moist as I moved towards the door. I took a deep breath and opened the door with a smile.

“Wow… you look, uh,” Steve said, stumbling through his words. He was wearing a dark blue, button up shirt tucked into a pair of dark grey pants. The shirt looked like it could be a size bigger considering the way it clung on to his arms and shoulders, but I guess I wasn’t really complaining about it either.

“Beautiful? Absolutely stunning?” I heard Natasha say from behind me as she packed away her products into the duffle bag.

“Well, yeah, you could say that,” He said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, “I see you’ve met Nat.” He looked at me and then over to Natasha.

“Tony sent her by earlier, apparently he found out about our dinner and thought I could use some help,” I explained as Natasha moved past us standing in the doorway. She gave us both a quick wave before standing on her toes to whisper something to Steve. He rolled his eyes and I could hear a small laugh spring out of her before she waved at me again.

_I guess they’re close._

“So,” I said, waiting on Steve’s next move.

“OH, right, well,” He gestured me out the door and into the hall as he began walking, “I thought it might be a nice gesture to get you something that would bring you a little taste of home than to run around New York.” I followed him into the kitchen where I had eaten breakfast earlier to reveal a small table with two chairs, a candle, and a large, Chicago-style pizza sitting in the middle of it.

“How did you learn to make Chicago-style? I thought you were from Brooklyn?” I asked with a smile as he pulled out a chair for me to sit.

“I have to admit I did have to call in a favor from Tony,” I could see a blush rise across his cheeks, “I didn’t mean to make a big deal out of everything by the way. With the candle and Natasha stopping by, Tony must have done all that. I just wanted to do something nice for you and I thought maybe this would be a good way of saying ‘I’m sorry’ for everything that happened yesterday,” He explained. I loved listening to him talk and explain himself. I could tell that he was nervous, but I kind of wanted to watch him squirm for a little while longer considering the torture I was put through yesterday.

“Steve,” I said, offering hima break from his rapid explanations, “I love it.”

“You do?” I could see his blue eyes practically light up.

“Yes,” I said with a small laugh, “It’s really, really kind of you.”

He smiled while looking down at the table and then catching my eyes again.

“Yeah, well, you deserve it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think! Also, I'm thinking of possibly writing a series of one-shots and have been looking for some inspiration, so PLEASE tell me if there's any kind of one-shot with certain characters/plots/etc. that you've been wanting to read!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little sappy chapter :)

“I still can’t help but listen to old records,” He said with a smile, “I know I should probably get caught up with all of the new music that’s coming out, but there’s something really…” Steve waited, looking for the right word.

“Nostalgic?” I chimed in.

“Kind of. When I put a record on, it just takes me back you know? Even if it was from a decade or two after the war. This newer music is just so different from what I’m used to.” He sighed.

I watched him take a sip of beer and I gave him a puzzled look.

“What?” He questioned with a smile.

“Natasha told me you didn’t drink, that you couldn’t…”

“Just because I can’t get drunk doesn’t mean I can’t drink a beer from time to time,” He smiled, and I felt my face go red.

“Sorry, I-” I began.

“Don’t worry about it,” He said with another smile, “Besides, you’re the same, right?” He questioned.

“I don’t know actually. I guess I don’t really know the extent of these powers,” I replied. I had thought about my powers from time to time, but always ended up reminding myself of how lucky I was to have them in the first place.

I looked back to Steve to see him looking at me, listening intently and tried holding back a smile. I took another bite of pizza and sipped on the water I had asked Steve for earlier.

“So, what about you. How have you been adjusting to everything,” Steve asked. In the time that I have spent here, I probably got that question once a day from someone. ‘How are you?’ ‘Are you adjusting alright?’ ‘Isn’t it weird?’

I usually just spat out the same answer. _I’m fine_ , or _Everything’s good_. But there was something about Steve that made me feel like I couldn’t lie to him. Maybe it was his honest nature, or maybe it was his kind face. Either way, I knew I couldn’t lie to him.

“It’s been,” I waited for a moment, searching for the right word, “Challenging.”

“How so?” Steve asked, setting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his folded hands. I couldn’t help but notice his muscular arms against the tight fabric of his shirt. I quickly moved my gaze back towards his face.  
“Well, I guess I just don’t feel like I’ve found my place yet, you know?” I tried to put my thoughts into words the best way that I could.

“I still feel like I haven’t fully found my place yet. Honestly, I don’t know if I ever will. I beginning to come to terms with everything though. Accepting my new normal. You will too,” Steve grabbed my hand and gave me a small smile before letting go. Everything he said felt so genuine and kind. It’s like he’s never done anything wrong before in his life.

“I hope I will,” I said. While Steve means well, I was hesitant to believe that I would fit in here. The only thing that actually gave me hope were Steve and Bucky. If they could do it, I could try.

We ate and chatted for another hour about our lives. Steve told me about what it was like growing up with Bucky as his friend and how embarrassed he felt trying to court different ladies with Bucky by his side.

“Oh, come on, I bet it wasn’t that bad,” I laughed, not wanting to tease.

“Katie, it was so bad. I was such a scrawny little guy and girls didn’t even look at me when Bucky was around,” He ran a hand through his shiny locks. It was hard to imagine a woman not wanting Steve. I mean, he’s incredibly handsome and strong, he’s got beautiful eyes, and a heart of gold.

“I somehow find that hard to believe,” I said, causing Steve to blush. Throughout my training at M.A.D., I had been taught in the art of seduction and found it too easy to flirt. With Steve though, he was so genuine and sweet I couldn’t put him through that. He was too shy and awkward for that. So I held back.

“Trust me, it was awful. I guess I have the serum to thank for more than just my powers,” He said, raising his brows and finishing off the last of his second beer.

I thought about all of the women who may have rejected Steve before and how they would be kicking themselves now if they could see him. They didn’t deserve him though. He was too kind. Too caring and thoughtful. Too good.

“So, what about you,” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

“What about me?”

“I’m guessing you were asked on quite a few dates back in the day,” Steve said with a twinge of curiosity in his voice. 

I thought about his question for a moment. Realistically, my romantic encounters were minimal. Some of the boys at M.A.D. gave me looks, but none of us ever did anything out of the fear that we would be punished. Not to mention we were overworked, constantly tired and generally pretty messed up. Beyond this, any sexual feat I had achieved was through force and work. The amount of older men I had to seduce when I worked as a spy was frightening.

While I understood Steve asked with a light heart, I couldn’t help but feel saddened by his question.

“There wasn’t really a time or place for romance in my life at M.A.D.”

I could sense a tension form in the space between the two of us as Steve leaned forward again in his chair. He could tell something was wrong, but instead of prying, he grabbed my hand, stood up, and gestured for me to follow.

“Well, we don’t have to talk about all of that right now,” He started as I followed him over to the empty space between our table and the large living space. 

The sadness I had felt creeping up on me had receded and curiosity filled my thoughts as Steve went over to a small box that was sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

“What is that?” I asked as he pulled a record off from the shelf nearby.

“It’s a little portable record player. Tony got it for me a little while back when I started collecting some records,” Steve said, placing the record on the turntable and dropping the needle.

I could hear the soft jazz music start up and recognized the song as “Dream a Little Dream of Me” by Ozzie Nelson and was immediately brought back to my childhood. Tears began forming in my eyes.

“Oh, no, do you not like it? I figured maybe you had listened to it as a kid,” Steve moved over to me quickly, panic written all across his face.

“It’s perfect,” I said, wiping away the small tear that fell from my eye, “My mom used to play her records for me all the time when I was little and I remember my dad loving this song.”

“Well Ms. Turner, would you care for a dance?” He said a bit theatrically, offering up his hands. I nodded and his left hand met my waist while his right grabbed at my hand.

“Of course,” I said, feeling my heart warm as he lead us in a slow dance on the hardwood floor.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had a moment this sweet in my life. I hadn’t had a chance to relax and enjoy the moment in years, but with Steve it felt like I was caught up perfectly in this moment. The way the soft yellow lights made his pink cheeks glow and his eyes appear brighter than normal. The way my hand lay lightly on his tight back, his shirt feeling softer than it appeared. His hair looking fluffy yet put together at the same time atop his head. I heard the music flowing through my ears and across my whole body; if someone told me I had to be trapped in this moment forever I would gladly accept. 

Steve caught my eyes, and while still swaying with me, let himself smile fully, showing his pearly white teeth. I felt my heart picking up speed as he looked deeper into my eyes and almost began leaning in before I heard the music end and begin again, only this time the song was much more bouncy and upbeat.

“Sorry about that,” Steve said with a nervous laugh, running towards the record player.

“Oh no, don’t worry about it, it’s getting late anyways,” I said, feeling the nervousness take over again. I don’t understand why I felt this way. I was usually so suave when it came to talking with anyone, but I always felt like there were marbles in my mouth when I was talking to Steve. I should've just kissed him. 

Although, he wasn’t really leaning in life I was, and I could have just ruined one of my only friendships. This is probably why they always told us to have no personal connections at M.A.D. Personal connections made you weaker, and with weakness comes defeat. But with Steve, I felt an entirely new feeling: real attraction towards someone.

He cleared his throat and put away the record, “Oh, yeah, of course.”

“I can help clean everything up,” I said, moving nervously back towards the table we had eaten at.

“Oh, please, don’t even worry about that, I’ll get all of it later,” He began.

“Steve, it’s the least I can do after you did all of this for me,” I grabbed for the pizza tray. Steve quickly grabbed the other side of it, placing it back down on the table as he blew out the candle.

“Please, all of this was for you. Including the clean up. So don’t even worry about it,” He replied, coming around to the other side of the table and offering me a hand again.

I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his hand as he began leading me back to my room.

Upon arriving at my room, there was a pause between the two of us. I pressed the code into my “smart door knob” as Tony called it, and opened it up before turning back towards Steve.

“So, guess I should be getting to bed soon,” I said, offering to start the goodbye process.

“Katie, I had I really great time with you tonight. I would love to do something again sometime. Maybe get dinner or a cup of coffee or something along those lines?” He asked, leaning against the door frame.

“That would be great Steve,” I said back with a smile. There was another long pause again and I let out a laugh as I noticed the small distance between us. 

I caught Steve’s eyes again, but this time I couldn’t stop looking. I could feel the distance between us closing as he leaned off of the door frame and towards me, taking a small step.

“Katie,” Steve said practically under his breath. I felt my heart picking up again and noticed how long we had been standing so close together.

“Steve,” I replied as I felt his hand locking together with mine, the other leaning back against the door frame. We were both practically inside my room and I looked to see his foot propping the door open.

“Would it be alright if maybe,” He started, his face moving closer to mine. Before he finished I nodded.

I let myself revel in the moment as his soft lips pressed against mine. My heart was beating harder than it probably ever had before as his hand wrapped around my waist.

I moved my hand toward the back of his neck, falling deeper into the kiss. I had thought that I wanted to be stuck forever in the moment dancing with him no too long ago, but it didn’t even compare to now. It was perfect.

Before things had the chance to pick up, we both pulled away, a huge grin spread across his face. We both let out light laughs, and I could feel myself grinning like an idiot.

“Um, well, I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow then,” He said, clearing his throat.

“You will,” I replied, mustering up some confidence to gain back some control of the conversation.

“Have a good night, Katie,” He said, backing away from the door and giving me a light wave. I held the door open and returned another small wave.

“You too Steve,” I said as I watched him smile again and begin his way down the hall. I waited another moment, and watched as he turned around again, giving another small wave as I shut the door. I practically collapsed onto my bed, trying hard to keep from letting a wild grin make its way across my mouth.

_I can’t believe I kissed Steve Rogers._


End file.
